Results 8,961-8,980 of 32,864 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I have always been very clear about recognising the huge contribution our public servants make to our State and our economy, and I am very happy to make that clear again. Deputy Calleary used the example of the gardaí and the huge contribution they make to keeping our streets and communities safe. I will develop his analysis further. The pay commission accepts that in certain specific...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Public Sector Pay (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Then let us consider what is happening in the HSE at present. From November of last year to March of this year, the HSE recruited 500 persons per month to work in the different services the HSE provides. This is because of our commitment to treat people fairly but in a way that is affordable to the Exchequer and recognises all the other needs on which all the Deputies will question me in a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: When inviting the public services committee of ICTU last month to the public service pay talks which are now in progress, I indicated a separate process of consultation would take place with an association representing public service pensioners. Most recently, my officials met with representatives of the Alliance of Retired Public Servants who articulated the concerns and interests of public...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: All the Deputy is offering is hollow rhetoric. He stands up on issue after issue, and in respect of groups that have been affected by the decisions that were made and the calamity of the crisis the country went through he brings them all in and promises them Sinn Féin will give them everything they want. It is hollow rhetoric at best. Deputies stand in the House and say they want...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The Deputy may declaim that he accepts the need to cut our choices according to the resources that are available, but I never see any evidence of this from Sinn Féin. I read the document to which the Deputy referred and I am aware of what he wants to do from a public pay policy point of view. My point is still very strong against all that the Deputy claims. Every member of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: We are able to borrow on top of that. We have to make choices available to us on the basis of the funding we have. If we do not do that.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am very used to this. It does not make any difference. Again and again, I see that Sinn Féin is well able to dole it out but is not able to take it back. The only way it can respond to its arguments being challenged is in the same manner as Deputy Cullinane. 4 o’clock I make the point again that we have seen regarding pensions and pay their efforts to promise to people...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: European Investment Bank (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Responsibility for policy on the Stability and Growth Pact rests with my colleague, the Minister for Finance. Both the Minister for Finance and I visited the European Investment Bank, EIB, in Luxembourg last week on 23 and 24 May 2017 and met with a large delegation of EIB officials led by President Werner Hoyer and Vice President Andrew McDowell. The purpose of our visit was...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: European Investment Bank (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree with some of the Deputy's analysis on the importance of infrastructure for Europe now. I contend that one of the great risks we face is that if we get the EU and the eurozone back on a trajectory of economic growth, it may not be inclusive, which it has to be. If one does not have infrastructure in place, whether it is housing or education, one will not be able to deliver...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: European Investment Bank (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, indeed. We are having significant technical discussions with the bank at the moment to see if there are new ways to address the project needs we have. We have to decide what the project needs are first and then decide whether the EIB offers an attractive source of funding for them.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: European Investment Bank (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: No. I have a clear figure in mind as to where I think infrastructure investment needs to get. I am now working with all of my Government colleagues to decide what projects will get us there because while a figure is important, it is even more important to have quality projects in which we want to invest. As regards the funding role of the EIB, we must bear in mind that there are other...

Other Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: Over the coming years, the Government intends to increase capital expenditure, as clearly outlined in our capital plan. When account is taken of the additional €5.14 billion now committed to capital investment over the period of the plan, capital expenditure will reach 11% of gross voted expenditure in 2021, or almost 75% higher than we were in 2016. We do need to be careful to avoid...

Other Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am very strongly aware of the need to increase capital investment. I know the Deputy understands these matters very well, and the choice we have is regarding how we do this in a way that does not cause the price of what we are looking to build to increase so we end up building projects at a higher cost than we should. We have been down that path before. To do this, it is important that...

Other Questions: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: It is not the voice of officialdom making these points, it is me. If we were in a situation where we ended up paying more for projects than we should, the Deputy would be in here immediately criticising me for doing it. I will not allow the taxpayer to be in that place. If we look at what we are planning to do, from a capital expenditure point of view, as it is this year we will invest...

Other Questions: Public Private Partnerships (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: As I said earlier, PPPs offer an alternative way for delivering infrastructure. The question refers to the 10% rule and whether we are seeking to review that. The current requirement is that, taken together, future costs in respect of PPPs should not pre-commit more than 10% of the overall aggregate capital funding projected to be made available to future Governments in an individual year....

Other Questions: Public Private Partnerships (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I will provide guidance on the role of PPPs as part of the capital plan review that is under way to allow agencies, if I believe it is appropriate, to deliver projects via the PPP model. The Deputy said he was concerned about my view on prices going up and cost overruns. One of the roles of my Department is to ensure that taxpayers' money is being used in the right way and that we are...

Other Questions: Public Private Partnerships (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: On understanding the cliff, before the summer I will publish an analysis of where we are with the stock of capital investment in the country and our view on changes that need to be made in the future. On the quality of existing infrastructure, of course, I understand our needs pertaining to housing and higher education. The Deputy gave some examples of what he believed to be infrastructural...

Other Questions: State Bodies Expenditure (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 24 and 41 together. The Commissioners of Public Works advise that the agreement in place with Caranua for its current accommodation in Frederick Court, Dublin 1, is an administrative arrangement by way of a simple exchange of letters between them and Caranua. It details a rent contribution of €106,000 per annum, with a commencement date of 1...

Other Questions: State Bodies Expenditure (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: The one question I cannot answer for the Deputy concerns the arrangement involving the OPW for the current building. I do not have the information required but will find it for her. On the other question the Deputy asked me, the Department of Education and Skills replied to a parliamentary question on 9 May 2017 addressing the responsibilities of Caranua as an independent statutory body...

Other Questions: State Bodies Expenditure (1 Jun 2017)

Paschal Donohoe: I am not ignoring the Deputy's question, nor am I attempting to do so. She asked me about the rental agreement between Caranua and the Commissioners of Public Works. I have provided for her all of the information available. On why Caranua is being asked to pay rent, this is a matter between the board of Caranua and the OPW. If the latter is providing accommodation for agencies that are...